


you got a mean touch i can't refuse

by flow3rs



Series: intentions [2]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Consensual Underage Sex, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, JUST GUYS BEIN DUDES, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Porn With Plot, Post-Coital Cuddling, Unresolved Romantic Tension, they really do be hiding their feelings for each other doe, whats better than that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:26:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23491645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flow3rs/pseuds/flow3rs
Summary: ej and ricky hook up. a lot. but that’s all they do. they’re not friends. they don’t care about each other. i mean, yeah, sometimes ej wraps his arm around ricky while they watch a movie. and maybe ricky cuddles up into his neck because he likes the smell of ej’s cologne. but they just hook up. that’s all they do.it doesn't mean anything.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/E.J. Caswell
Series: intentions [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685080
Comments: 15
Kudos: 162





	you got a mean touch i can't refuse

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for all the positive feedback on my last story and thank you to every who read it. i love u all uwu.
> 
> title is lyrics from 'intentions' by justin bieber
> 
> also stream common sense by joshua bassett for clear skin!

ricky was the type of person that always thought hookup culture was overrated. like, what was the point of doing anything intimate with anyone if there was no meaning? shouldn’t intimacy be about sharing a part of yourself with another person? a part of yourself that the rest of the world wasn’t allowed to see because of how special it was? ricky was firm in his belief that sex was something that should be loving, that should have feeling, that should be more than just a casual thing to satisfy physical desires.

that was, until, he started hooking up with ej.

ej and ricky hooked up. a lot.

the first time it happened, was at ej’s 18th birthday party. ricky blamed it on the alcohol but ej liked to say that it was because he was just “so irresistible”. 

the second time, ej offered him a “ride home from school” but after reaching ej’s sports car in the parking lot of the school, both boys forewent the bullshit, got into the backseat, and proceeded to have a very heated makeout session ending with come in their pants and ricky’s dad calling him wondering why the fuck he wasn’t home. ej was kind enough to _actually_ drop him off at home afterwards.

for the next few weeks, ej would pull him into the janitor’s closet at school during their study hall for a quick makeout, or ricky would tell ej to meet him backstage after school and give him a blowjob, or ej would finger ricky in the back of his mercedes on a friday afternoon.

once, they thought it would be a fun idea for ricky to give ej road head while he was driving to drop ricky off at the skatepark, but ej got so distracted by the blowjob that he almost swerved the luxury car into a pole. ej got pissed and swore they were never going to do that again for the sake of misty (his car’s) life.

ricky stopped keeping track of all the times he and ej hooked up because at this point, he figured they were full on friends-with-benefits already. or enemies-with-benefits? ricky wasn’t sure because it wasn’t like they particularly liked each other suddenly just because they did sexual things. they were still the same old _ejandricky_ that did little shit to piss each other off all the time.

except that the quick hookups in janitor’s closets and the back of misty, slowly turned into ricky coming over to ej’s after school or ej going to ricky’s place. both boys’ parents usually weren’t home because of work and ashlyn had choir practice or singing lessons most nights so they were usually left with an empty house.

ricky never truly believed that “netflix and chill” was a real thing until ej texted him one night.

**_ej cockwell_ ** _: yo_

**_pricky_ ** _: what_

**_ej cockwell_ ** _: wyd_

**_pricky_ ** _: you did not just wyd me_

**_pricky_ ** _: and nothing why_

**_ej cockwell_ ** _: come over? i just ordered pizza and im in the mood to watch jersey boys on netflix_

**_ej cockwell_ ** _: also im home alone_ 🤓

**_pricky:_ ** _im coming for the pizza dont get it twisted_

and ricky was very intent on eating that pizza. but 10 minutes into watching the movie, the boys wrapped in blankets on ej’s king size bed, ej slowly slid his hand down to grip ricky through his grey sweatpants under the covers.

“are you seriously trying to netflix and chill with me right now?” he complained but his dick was betraying how he really felt.

ej just smiled mischievously before ducking under the blanket and sucking ricky off, frankie valli & the four seasons serenading them in the background.

it ended up that way a lot. they would go over to each other’s houses, fool around for a bit, and then play video games like pokémon: mystery dungeon (ej’s choice of quality time) or binge disney movies (ricky’s preferred past time) in their boxers before one of them had to head home. sometimes when ricky was too lazy to change back into his jeans he would rummage through ej’s closet and steal a t-shirt, sweatpants, or a hoodie. ej always complained that he never folded anything back up when he was finished deciding what he was gonna steal, so ricky kept doing it just to piss him off.

ricky didn’t want to say that he was starting to _enjoy_ the company of the senior boy, but when a month after the first time they hooked up passed, he began to realize how much time they actually spent together. ej had training for swim and water polo three times a week, so on those days ricky would hang out with big red at the skate park and when big red would leave he would text ej to pick him up so they could hang. on the two days of the school week ej didn’t have training, he would drive ricky home or to his own place to spend time together.

and yeah, they still pissed each other off, like, all the time. ej always ate all the tortilla chips in ricky’s house. and he didn’t even _use the dip._ he ate them _plain_ . ricky almost threw him out of his house when he saw that act of blasphemy for the first time. and according to ej, ricky used up all of his giant bottle of mouthwash in a week. _“sorry i don’t wanna walk around with my mouth smelling like your dick, asshole!”_ ricky had said.

but with the usual petty talk and annoying gestures came some new things, as well. ej knew whenever ricky was hungry because ricky would turn around and give him this _look_ and just stare at him until ej rolled his eyes exasperatedly, grab his phone and open up uber eats (he always ordered mexican food, ricky’s favorite). sometimes when they were watching a movie in their beds, ricky would fall asleep and _accidentally_ let his head fall onto ej’s shoulder and cuddle into the boy’s neck (which smelled like grapefruit and pine needles, a chanel cologne ricky once saw on ej’s sink). it had slowly come to be one of ricky’s favorite scents. whenever ricky fell asleep on him, ej would wrap an arm around the younger boy without a second thought.

yeah, they spent a lot more time together than they did previously. and they did a lot of things they probably wouldn’t have done before they started hooking up. but that didn’t mean anything.

for instance, they haven’t even had _real_ sex. like. penetration. ricky hated that word. ricky also hated the fact that he was kind of a raging virgin. sex kind of scared him. and he never thought about having _real_ sex with a _guy_ until he started fucking around with ej. for most of his life, ricky knew he wanted his first time to be special, he wanted the cliches; the candles, the pristine hotel sheets, the _girl_ underneath him, the _love_. but as usual, ej fucked things up.

now whenever he looked at ej, he just wanted to have sex with him. he just wanted to fuck ej (or have ej fuck him, he didn’t really care). everytime he looked at ej, he wanted to jump the older and finally lose his v-card. but ricky always resisted, because he knew he wanted his first time to be _special._ and nothing about hooking up with ej was the special ricky wanted for something so momentous. for fucks sake, ej’s squirtle plushie was always sat on his bedside table _watching them_ hook up. THAT is the opposite of what ricky wants to see when he loses his virginity.

ricky was a romantic. he wanted the post-coital cuddling after losing his virginity. and so far, ej and ricky have never slept over after they hooked up. it was always: hook up, hang out, go home. or hang out, hook up, go home. or another order of their routine. but it always ended in going to their respective houses to sleep in their own bed. never in the other’s bed. there was just something intimate about actually _sleeping_ with someone that stopped the two from ever doing it. but ricky was okay with that because it meant that their little booty calls didn’t mean anything.

until one night, ricky stayed over.

it was a friday night and they went through the usual routine. they got it on, played pokémon for a few hours, ordered food and by around 9 PM, ricky figured he should probably head home. he shrugged on one of ej’s water polo sweatshirts that had ‘caswell’ printed on the back, while scrolling through the notifications on his phone since he hadn’t checked them in a while. as he scrolled, ej got up from the bed to use the bathroom connected to his room.

ricky didn’t find anything on his phone particularly interesting; a few texts from big red ranting about the latest episode of the walking dead, gina sending him tik tok dances she wanted to learn, nini dm-ing him _another_ one of jeremy jordan’s posts to tell him how hot she thought he was. most of his notifications were like this until he noticed a text from his dad that made his heart stop beating in his chest.

**_my man mike_** 😇: _Hey bud, Mom made a surprise visit to grab some more of her stuff. She’ll be here until tomorrow morning...just wanted to let you know. Let me know when you are coming home._

fuck. ricky did NOT want to see his mom right now. he knows he shouldn’t avoid talking to her forever, but for her to come unannounced was a shitty move and just the thought of seeing her if his dad didn’t warn him was starting to make his heart rate rise and anxiety build up in his chest. thankfully, he had a real one for a dad or he would’ve had a mental breakdown at home, which he really didn’t want to go back to anymore if she was there.

however, if he wasn’t gonna stay at home, that meant he had to find another place to stay. he _couldn’t_ sleep over ej’s; he wouldn’t let himself if there was another option. so, sitting on the edge of ej’s bed and having a slight panic attack as he texted everyone he knew if he could stay over, he hoped to get a response before ej got out of the bathroom; maybe if ricky was lucky, ej would be constipated.

but apparently everyone he knew was on their phone at the same time, sending responses almost immediately:

**_gee-nah:_ ** _sorry ricky i dont think my strict ass dad would let a boy sleep over :(_

**_ninz_ ** **❣️** **_:_ ** _omfg i wish i could let you stay over but me and the mamas are staying at a hotel in the city rn bc we’re celebrating their anniv. pls lmk when you find someone to stay with!! ily im so sorry_

**_large ginger_ ** _: fuck dude i totally would if my cousins from colorado werent visiting. they’re taking up the whole damn basement_

**_carlos <3_ ** _: i would say yes but seb’s already sleeping over_ 😬 _have you tried asking ej?_

fuck. his. life.

as if on cue, ej stepped out of the bathroom, surprised to see ricky still in his room.

“is there a reason why you’re loitering in my house?” he questioned, running his fingers through his hair and looking bored with ricky.

“uh.”

“you good, bro?”

ricky really didn’t want to have to ask this question, but it seemed he had no other choice. “uh...do you think i could...sleep over?” he whispered, looking at the ground while playing with the drawstrings on ej’s hoodie.

“can you repeat that, mr. whisper?” ej asked, impatient. ricky rolled his eyes as he finally looked the older boy in the eyes.

“i said...can i sleep over? uh, my mom came home unannounced and i’d, like, rather not sleep in the same house as her, to be honest…”

“oh. oh yeah, dude, of course. why didn’t you just say so in the first place?”

“i didn’t wanna, like, intrude or anything. i don’t know.”

“ricky you’ve been at my house for the past five hours. what’s seven more hours of sleeping gonna do?” ej laughed as he began to change into sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in. ricky pretended not to look at the older boy when he turned around and took his shirt off, revealing his firmly muscled back.

“do you have, like, a sleeping bag or something? i can sleep on the floor. or i can sleep on the couch downstairs.”

“what do you mean?” ej looked at him, confused, as he finished changing.

“well, i’m not gonna sleep in your bed.”

“why not?”

“well, where would you sleep, then?”

“i mean, i kind of assumed we would both just sleep in my bed. it’s a king size, so.”

ricky spluttered, his heart beating fast trying to come up with a reason why that couldn’t happen. 

“but i kick in my sleep!”

“well then i’ll kick you back.”

ej closed the door to his bedroom, turning off the lamp on his bedside table, the only thing now illuminating the room being the dim string lights hanging from his wall. he pulled back his comforter, got into his bed and looked at ricky expectantly.

“but then we’ll just kick each other for hours instead of sleeping!” ricky was starting to give up.

“dude. you’ve literally eaten my ass in this bed. one night of sleeping three feet apart will not kill you.”

he sighed. “fine. fuck you. but i’m using your mouthwash.”

ej rolled his eyes, “you already use all my mouthwash, anyway!” he snapped and tucked himself into the bed. ricky sent a quick text to his dad telling him he was staying at ej’s and went to the bathroom. 

ej scrolled through his phone as he waited for ricky to finish up. when ricky finally cleaned his mouth to his standards, he stepped back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. he made his way to ej’s bed before ej stopped him, looking at ricky behind his phone, confused.

“is that my sweatshirt?”

he looked down at the east high water polo hoodie he stole from ej’s closet. “yeah?”

“it looks. uh. good on you,” ej coughed out awkwardly.

ricky couldn’t hide the blush that creeped up his cheeks at the comment, but he ignored the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach. “oh, thanks.”

he got under the covers as ej put his phone down on his bedside table. there was an air of tension as the boys laid there, quite literally five feet apart (because they’re not gay).

“are your parents okay with me staying over?’ ricky found himself asking quietly.

“they’re, uh, on some business trip or whatever. they don’t care.”

“oh. okay. when’s ashlyn coming home?”

“i think she told me earlier that she’s staying over at a friend’s house tonight.”

so they were gonna be alone for the whole night. ricky didn’t know what to do with this information. “cool. well. goodnight,” he said, turning on his side, facing away from ej.

“goodnight, bowen,” ej replied, turning and facing the opposite wall.

ricky pretended to sleep as he did nothing but stare at the light grey wall in front of him, overthinking every choice he’d ever made in his life that lead him to this moment. he felt the bed shift and, curious, he turned his body back toward ej to find ej already turned to face him.

they stared at each other in the darkness for a few seconds before ej declared, “this is so fucking stupid,” and reached for ricky’s waist as ricky met him in the middle.

they sat up in the bed, kissing roughly; all tongue and teeth exploring parts of each other they already knew, and yet, what always felt so new. their hands roamed each other’s bodies, ej’s slipping under the hoodie ricky wore, gliding across his back and down his spine, making the younger boy shiver. he tugged the sweatshirt over ricky’s head, separating their lips for just a second and throwing the article of clothing haphazardly across the room, before continuing the exploration of ricky’s mouth with his tongue.

they fought for dominance of the kiss, fighting a war with their tongues, yet ricky already knew deep down he was going to let ej win. he always did. 

grabbing hold of the soft t-shirt ej wore, he pulled up, indicating that the older boy should remove the offending piece.

“your turn,” he murmured against ej’s lips, pulling the shirt off as ej kneeled above him, lifting his arms to assist. ricky couldn’t help but run a hand down the older boy’s abdomen, feeling the hard muscles form swimming. he attached his lips to ej’s neck, sucking a love bite onto the tan skin.

ej held him to the spot, one hand in his hair, the other reaching behind the younger boy and slipping under his sweatpants to squeeze his ass. ricky groaned at the touch and returned his lips to the other boy’s, pushing on his chest so that ej lay on the bed while ricky straddled his waist. he moved his ass against the hard outline of ej’s dick through their sweatpants, teasing him.

ej grabbed ricky’s hips, bringing their bodies even closer together if that was possible, “you look so fucking good. look like you’re riding me, baby.”

“fuck,” ricky moaned, moving faster against ej’s crotch. he _loved_ when ej called him baby.

“you’d look even better underneath me, though,” and that was the only warning ricky got before ej was flipping them over, knocking the breath out of ricky’s lungs as ej hovered above him, their erections rubbing against each other. he brought his lips to ricky’s sensitive nipples, lapping and sucking on them, the younger boys back arching as he moaned.

ej slowly traveled back up so that his lips were behind ricky’s ear, biting the lobe before whispering, “i wanna fuck you so bad right now.”

ricky gasped; at the way ej’s tongue was moving against his neck or the way ej’s words made his heart race fast, he wasn’t sure.

ricky _knew_ himself. ricky knew what he wanted. he knew what he always imagined his first time to be like. and this wasn’t anything close to it. but with the way ej’s clothed dick was rubbing against his own, or the way ej’s hands caressed his sides so gently, the way his teeth bit another hickey into the juncture of ricky’s neck.

ricky didn’t care. _fuck it_ , he thought to himself.

he moved ej’s head so that they were looking right at each other, their noses brushing and minty breath mingling.

“so fuck me, then.”

ej pulled away quickly to fully look at ricky, disbelief in his eyes. “seriously?!”

“uh, yeah?”

“are you sure?”

“why wouldn’t i be sure?”

“i don’t know, we’ve never done this before.”

“ok well, let’s do it now, then,” ricky huffed, growing a slightly impatient.

“you’re 100% forreal?”

“YES! i’m fucking forreal! but if you ask me one more question i’m gonna change my mind!”

ej didn’t even reply before he scrambled to get out of the bed and rummage through his drawer. after a few seconds, he seemed to find what he was looking for, throwing a small bottle of lube and a condom behind him, aiming for the bed while both items hit ricky in the face instead.

“ow! watch where you’re throwing things!”

“sorry, babe,” ej apologized, looking bashful. he quickly shimmied out of his sweatpants but got stuck in one of the legs and almost tripped while trying to get back to his earlier position on top ricky in the bed. ricky couldn’t help but giggle, watching the other boy struggle to get out of his pants.

when he finally stepped out of the article of clothing, he resumed his position, but not before sneaking his hands to ricky’s sweatpants, “these should also come off,” and with that, ej stripped the other boy of his pants, throwing them somewhere across the room, ricky giggling like a child the whole time. ej crawled back over him and couldn’t help but take a few seconds to look at the younger boy; the way his eye crinkled when he smiled too hard, how his small brown curls stuck up in every which way on his head, the endearing way his smile was just a little lopsided.

“stop fucking staring at me and get on with it, asshole,” ricky snapped, breaking ej out of his trance.

“okay, fuck you.”

“yeah, i’ve been trying to but you seem to have other ideas on how to pass the time.”

ej shook his head and slid his boxers off (he was wearing normal dark blue ones today), before slipping his fingers under the waistband of ricky’s own to remove them, the other boy lifting his hips to help him.

“what’s with the ‘tude tonight? ej questioned, popping open the lube bottle and pouring a generous amount onto his fingers.

“i-i don’t know. i’m just kinda...nervous, i guess” ricky admitted truthfully. “i’ve never really done this before.”

“don’t worry, i’ll take care of you,” the older boy reassured, lifting ricky’s legs and guiding his fingers to his hole. this part was at least familiar to ricky; they’ve done this before. in fact, he was still a bit stretched out from when they hooked up earlier in the day, so hopefully this part wouldn’t last too long. ricky was getting anxious for the _real_ stuff to start.

ej worked his fingers in one by one, scissoring and stretching carefully so as to make sure ricky wouldn’t be in pain when he finally got his dick into him. not that ej was that big, but he would rather be safe than sorry.

careful and gentle as ej was, however, it didn’t stop ricky from being a whiny little bitch the whole time the other boy was fingering him.

“can you just put it in already? jesus christ, i feel like you’re fingers have been in my ass since the ice age-- fuck!”

the senior interrupted him by curling his fingers, hitting the spot he knew made the younger boy scream.

ej kissed him on the cheek before saying, “shut up, please.” but he slowly removed his fingers from the other’s hole anyway, grabbing the condom packet from his bedside table, ripping it open and slipping it on.

seeing ej spread more lube onto his cock, ricky cursed himself for being such an impatient person. his heart was beating faster and faster every step closer ej got to putting it in. he prayed to god he wouldn’t do anything stupid to mess this all up because he very much wanted this to feel good.

“ready?” ej questioned, snapping ricky out of his overbearing thoughts.

“yeah.”

and with that, ej lined up in between ricky’s pale thighs, gently pressing against his hole and pushing against the tight ring of muscle. ricky gasped, his whole body tensing up, and his heart beating out of his chest.

leaning over to give ricky a quick, reassuring kiss on the lips, ej comforted, “relax, okay?” and he slipped his hand into ricky’s, interlocking their fingers as he slipped in slowly, inch by inch. ricky’s muscles loosened, but his quick heart rate remained steadfast at the small gestures ej was offering to him to make him feel more comfortable. one might say these gestures gave the impression that he _cared._ but ricky didn’t have too much time to think about that, as ej was almost fully inside of him.

ej’s hips were finally flush against him, his breaths coming out in quick huffs against the other boy’s neck and the hand holding ricky’s clutching so hard to restrain himself from chasing any pleasure, waiting until ricky said he could move. and _god_ he wanted the younger boy to tell him to move; he was so tight and warm around ej’s dick, so tempting to just slam right into.

after a few seconds of getting used to feeling so _full_ , ricky whispered into ej’s ear, “please move.”

and ej did not need to be told twice. grabbing the younger boy’s hips and bringing him in for another kiss, ej pulled his hips back slowly before snapping forward, causing both boys to moan loudly.

“fuck,” ricky gasped as ej continued going in and out of him. everything felt different, and new, and it was so _much_ ; he couldn’t help but dig his fingers into ej’s back as his pace became faster and faster.

ej guided ricky’s legs to wrap around his waist, changing the angle so that he was now hitting ricky’s prostate every time he slammed back into him, earning the older boy one high pitched moan after another. sweat glistened on ej’s torso from exertion, and ricky looked up at the boy above him in awe; his usually perfect hair now falling onto his forehead, his face twisted in pleasure, his chest rising and falling from his heavy breathing. _he looks beautiful_ , ricky thought to himself, but he would never say it out loud.

ricky started to feel the familiar tugging in the bottom of his stomach, ej’s hips beginning to set a brutal pace, hitting his sweet spot and making the boy below him shamelessly cry out. they were lucky no one was home because they were not being quiet _at all_ , ej groaning low in his throat as he got closer as well. he reached down to once again interlock his fingers with ricky’s, moving the younger boy’s arms above his head and holding him there. 

he bent down to suck a love bite into ricky’s neck and whined into his skin, “i’m not gonna last.”

ricky was almost at his breaking point as well, whispering back, “i’m close.”

“come for me, baby,” ej murmurmed, squeezing his hands, and that’s all it took for ricky to come undone, spilling over his stomach, back arching and crying out into the empty night. 

“oh fuck, ej, fuck, fuck, fuck,” still reeling from the aftershocks and trying to catch his breath.

ej followed shortly after, biting down on the younger boy’s shoulder to stifle his groan as he released into the condom, the muscles of his abdomen tightening up. when he finished, his body slumped on top of ricky, all the pent up energy of the night finally freeing.

they laid there trying to catch their breaths as the realization of what they just did began to catch up with ricky. _holy shit_ , he thought _, ej caswell just took my virginity._

ej interrupted his thoughts as he finally pulled out of the junior, tying off the condom and throwing it into his wastebasket. he grabbed a tissue from his bedside table to clean the mess on ricky’s stomach.

“what? not gonna lick it all off this time?” ricky joked, referencing their first hookup.

“only if you don’t run off like you did the first time.”

“not like i have anywhere else to go.”

“good,” ej said, pulling the covers up and over the two boy’s before bringing ricky into his arms, the younger boy snuggling up into the senior’s chest, nuzzling his neck to smell the familiar and favorite scent of ej’s cologne. he stifled a yawn as ej began stroking his curly brown hair, slowly letting sleep take over his body while gently placing a hand on ej’s chest, letting the other boy’s heartbeat be his lullaby.

“‘night, caswell,” he mumbled.

“‘night, bowen.”

it didn’t mean anything.

*****

ricky was the first to wake, rays of sun spilling into the room through the white curtains of the windows. his eyes blinked open, his brain not fully processing where he was before he remembered he had spent the night at ej’s. that’s when he noticed the position they were in: ricky was almost on top of the other boy, his leg draped over ej’s hips, the senior’s strong arms wrapped around his smaller frame. if he was more coherent, he would probably have a mind to detach himself, but this was a rare occasion where ricky was honest with himself and he admitted to liking the feeling of waking up cuddling. so he closed his eyes and snuggled in further.

ej must have sensed the movement, however, as his eyes slowly opened, squinting at the sunlight through the windows. he looked down at the boy in his arms, stifling a smile. the golden rays hit ricky right on his cheekbones, casting shadows of his long eyelashes across his face. _he looks beautiful_ , ej thought to himself, but he would never say it out loud.

he reached for his phone on the bedside table, trying not to disturb the sleeping boy on top of him. _9:23 AM_ flashed on the screen and a few texts from his parents, which he ignored.

he was about to go back to sleep when he felt his stomach grumble and he realized how hungry he was. turning his attention back to the sleeping boy, he gently nudged ricky until he opened his eyes, looking up at him like a confused puppy.

“morning, sleepy,” ej croaked, his morning voice deeper than usual.

“it’s too early for this shit,” ricky replied, holding onto ej tighter and making him laugh.

“it’s almost 10 am. are you hungry?”

“kinda,” as soon as he said it, his stomach growled. “yeah.”

“cool, how do you like your eggs?” ej asked as he reluctantly got out of ricky’s tight hold and left the bed while the younger boy whined for him to come back. he slipped on his sweatpants from last night, opting to go commando.

“scrambled, please.”

“pancakes or waffles?”

“uh, pancakes. always.”

“you disgust me,” but ej was smiling as he said it, throwing on a sweatshirt, leaving the room, and heading to the kitchen.

“chocolate chips too, please!” ricky called out, hoping the older boy heard him from down the hall.

he grabbed his phone, checking for any important notifications.

**_my man mike_** 😇: Hey, bud. Hope EJ’s treating you right. Mom left a little while ago so the coast is clear...LOL! LMK when you’re coming home.

**_my man mike_** 😇: LMK means ‘let me know’ I saw it on Facebook!

ricky laughed to himself. he loved his dad.

smelling the comforting scent of chocolate chip pancakes wafting into the bedroom from the kitchen, ricky figured he should probably get out of bed. he gathered the clothes he was wearing last night and shrugged them on, grabbing a pair of socks from ej’s drawer and stealing them. it was then he realized all of the clothes on his body were ej’s (albeit his underwear); the sweatshirt, the grey sweatpants, the white half calf nike socks. whatever.

as he walked down the hall towards the kitchen, he thought he heard a voice other than ej. he walked in to find ashlyn and ej fighting over the last of the orange juice.

“you drank all of it last time, dumb bitch!” ej yelled, holding the bottle of tropicana high above ashlyn as she jumped to try and get it while pushing against him.

“you drank all of my la croix! let me have this one thing, fucking douchebag!”

the cousins turned as they noticed ricky looking at them in the door frame. they both put on their brightest smiles and acted like they weren’t just fighting over a bottle of juice.

“ricky! how are you?” ashlyn gushed cheerily.

“pretty good, i guess. also, sorry if i’m intruding.”

“no, it’s totally fine! ej told me you guys stayed up late doing a project so you just decided to stay over.”

“oh. yeah,” ricky was a terrible liar, so he decided to just change the subject instead, taking a seat at the island, “when did you get back?”

“just around 8ish, i slept over one of my friend’s houses from my theatre camp,” she replied, popping a small piece of chocolate chip pancake in her mouth.

ej finished cooking all the breakfast and brought it out to the table for them all to eat. he made waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. the three of them ate side by side while making small talk. ej was starving so he finished up before the other two, excusing himself to take a shower.

when ricky and ashlyn finished, they brought the dishes to the sink to clean. ricky insisted he clean them by himself since he was a guest in her home, the two of them bickering good-naturedly before she finally let up. he put the plates and utensils in the drying rack and turned around to head back to ej’s bedroom to grab his stuff when ashlyn stopped him.

“hey ricky?”

“yeah, ash?”

“is that ej’s sweatshirt you’re wearing?” she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

ricky felt his cheeks go red, hoping she wouldn’t see since they were farther apart now. he stuttered, trying to come up with a good lie. “oh, yeah, his room is so cold at night so he let me borrow it.”

“of course,” but ashlyn knew how ej almost always slept shirtless, complaining that she would always turn up the heat too high while they slept.

“yup,” ricky said awkwardly before trying to get on his way again.

“one more thing.”

“mhm?” he was starting to sweat because of her interrogation.

“i didn’t know you guys had any classes together.”

“uh. yeah. ap lit & comp. i got in as a junior. you know me and my writing skills!” ricky spit out quickly before power walking back to the bedroom in case she wanted to ask anything else.

ashlyn stood in the kitchen alone, sipping her orange juice. she wasn’t stupid. she knew something fishy was going on with those two, she just didn’t know what.

but ashlyn was a very observant person. she would get to the bottom of it soon enough.

**Author's Note:**

> if you would like to listen to a playlist inspired by/that inspires this series see below:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/35WO4rQOmB6YXQLCPna0ya?si=3ZPY5jqFSfSZEeyoZXDt8A
> 
> i hope u all are doing well and staying home in this quarantine!! we will get through this uwu


End file.
